One Day More
by Smiles1998
Summary: After making a solemn vow to a dying Master; Po, Tigress, Viper, Crane, Mantis, Monkey, Shifu, Master Ox, and Master Croc set out to find and adopt his daughter, Tigria. For she is the only one who has the power to save her city from the dark force that has aroused. Main couples: TiPo and a sort of love hexagon between OC's. Rated T for violence, and for safety.
1. Prologue

**I am a horrible author I know! But I have been listening to the Les Miserables soundtrack for a long time now, and I've had this idea for the longest of time, but I just had to post it!**

**So just please give it a chance, pretty please?**

-Four Years before Po's Arrival at the Jade Palace-

A tall, strongly built, male panther in his late thirties with pitch black fur and silver eyes (along with all his other fellow convicts) were standing chest-deep in sea water. The ship they were in charge of bringing in was proving to be quite a challenge. For one, it was storming; the wind was spraying all the salty sea water into their faces, and all they had to pull in the heavy boats with only ropes.

The panther grunted and groaned as he worked. Pulling in the rope to the beat of the crashing waves.

"_Look down, look down. Don't look 'em in the eye."_ The panther thought to himself as he glanced up to see all the royal guards scattered across the boat dockings. _"I'm here until I die…"_ The feline thought bitterly.

"Oh god, it's as hot as hell below!" One of the panther's fellow convicts complained.

"There's just twenty years to go!" Another shouted happily.

"I've done no wrong!" The convict in front of him said. At a time, the panther thought that of himself too. "Please good gods, hear my prayer!" The convict shouted to the sky.

"Look down! Look down! The gods don't even care!" The convicts shouted at him.

"I know she'll wait! I know that she'll stay true!" An elderly convict shouted

"Don't hold your breath!" A convict behind the panther shouted to him. "They've all forgotten you!"

"When I get out, when I am free, you won't see me here for dust!" The panther shouted.

"Look down, look down!" Every convict chanted in unison. "You'll always be a slave. You're standing in your grave."

"Prisoner 24601! Bring me prisoner 24601!" The head guard shouted to the others. The panther's head shot up. That was his prisoner number! Not wanting to end up in even more trouble than he probably already was, he let go of the rope and swam toward the guards who were waiting for him.

He hoisted himself onto the docks and let the two guards lead him to the head guard, a fifty-something lynx with bright yellow eyes. He glared at him then turned toward the other two guards "Bring him to the gate."

The two guards nodded then dragged the panther away from the other convicts, away from the sea water. Although you could still smell it on the panther's clothes (or rags as he called them).

When they arrived, the two guards shoved the panther to the ground which caused the panther to land face first in mud, then laughed at his misfortune. "Wouldn't get any ideas if I were you, bub!" A guard said snidely at him, and then he walked away with the other guard.

It was then the panther lifted his face out of the mud and saw where he was. He was at the front gate of the prison! And the gate was un-locked! Ever since we was imprisoned here, nineteen years ago, he had tried multiple times to escape and learned one thing the very first try, the front gate was never unlocked. Only when a prisoner was coming in or when one was being…

"Released…" The panther whispered, appalled.

"You must be him!" The panther heard a male voice from behind him. He turned to see an Indochinese tiger who was probably either twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old with orange and white and black striped fur and amber eyes wearing brown sandals, silver silk pants, a long-sleeved, teal silk shirt with silver trim, and a green robe draped across one of his shoulders walking up to him. The tiger was carrying some papers in one hand and a ring of keys in the other.

"You must be Prisoner 24601." The tiger said, smiling at him in a friendly way. "Your time is up  
and your parole's begun. You know what that mean?"

The panther smiled happily. Released, he thought he was going to die here in all honestly. "Yes, it means I'm free!"

The tiger cringed as if he was punched in the gut. "I'm sorry, but no. It means you get this." The tiger handed him a yellow paper with information on it. His information. His age, his name, his crime, what he's done since he's been here, and how long he's been here.

"What is this? And shouldn't the head guard be giving me this?" The panther questioned in an irritated manner.

"This is your yellow-ticket of leave. Your parole papers. This is what shows that you could possibly be a threat." The tiger said in an apologetic way.

"I stole a loaf of bread!" The panther shouted at him.

"According to these papers here," The tiger said grabbing a white piece of paper and read off of it for a moment. "You robbed a house to get that bread."

"I had to! My sister's child was close to death and-and we were starving!" The panther retorted, he could feel his anger staring to rise.

"Well, unless you can follow this parole to the exact letter and learn the meaning of the law… you will starve again." The tiger said.

"I know the meaning of these past nineteen years, as a slave of the law." The panther snarled.

"Listen," The tiger said sternly, as if about to punish a child. "You got five years for stealing that loaf of bread and the rest for numerous escape attempts. So prisoner 24601-"

"My name is Shā-Wēi Xing!" The panther snarled bitterly at the tiger. **(A/N: Pronounce it like Sh-aah Way.)**

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Xing." The tiger said in an annoyed tone, yet he still held out his hand as if to shake it. "My name is Grandmaster Tai-Yang Long of the Marble Palace in Bùxiǔ de Xīwàng City." It was then that the strong, yet rusted, iron gates opened. "Enjoy your freedom, Shā-Wēi Xing. But remember, you must become an honest man, now."

Shā-Wēi mentally scoffed in response, then he walked hastily out of the prison, leaving Tai-Yang standing there, glancing in a somewhat sadden way. Unaware of the danger and suffer that came with letting Shā-Wēi go free.

-About five miles away from the prison-

Shā-Wēi glanced back at the prison, which was now a speck in the distance. "Freedom is mine. Freedom at last. I can feel the wind. I can breathe again. Never forget the years, the waste." He glared at the prison and shook his head. "Nor forgive them, for what they've done. They are the guilty ones - everyone. The day begins... And now let's see what this new world will do for me!"

Shā-Wēi smiled as he made his way toward a nearby village. Confident that the good people will understand that the good-people of the village will understand.

-Three weeks later-

Shā-Wēi collapsed to the dusty ground below him, unable to walk another step without rest. His bones barring from lack of food, his once magnificent coat of fur oily and covered in filth. And he had thick bags under his eyes. Why? All because of his damn parole papers! By law he was required to show them to every employer, every inn keeper, and every establishment that he dared entered. And they all turned him away because of his crimes.

He knew he had done no wrong, his sister and nephew needed that bread. But then again, he did break the law. And he knew very well that there were consequences. But is Grandmaster Ta-Yang hadn't given him that exact same paperwork, he wouldn't be in this mess!

"Hi mister." Shā-Wēi looked up to see a little bunny child, no older than seven, smiling down at him. "Why are ya so skinny?" The child pointed to his rib cage.

"What city am I in, child?" Shā-Wēi asked in a voice that was just above a whisper.

"Bùxiǔ de Xīwàng City, sir." The child answered sweetly.

"Lea, get away from him!" A bunny in her early thirties shouted and grabbed the child and leads her away from the leopard. "I've heard of him, he's that scumbag that was released from jail. He could've stolen your money and be gone in a flash!" Shā-Wēi heard the mother rabbit explain to the child.

"Bitches…" He growled under his breath. That's when he saw it, a loaf of bread! At the top of a trash-can pile not too far from him. With his mouth watering, Shā-Wēi crawled over to the trash and greedily grabbed the loaf. He was about to shove the entire loaf into his mouth when…

"Citizens! Citizens! Wonderful news! Wonderful, Extraordinary news! Grandmaster Tai-Yang's wife, Mistress Ming Yuè is pregnant with our future leader!" A young goose ran out of a massive building made entirely out of various types of marble.

"_Grandmaster Tai-Yang… His wife… Is pregnant!"_ Shā-Wēi thought furiously. The exact same bastard that is to blame for his predicament has a wife. Who, within nine months time, will give birth to a baby boy or girl. This infuriated Shā-Wēi. For the past nineteen years, he was made a slave of China's law and then he was released, then he wandered aimlessly around for the past three weeks wanting only food and shelter and acceptance, and now he learns that the man who caused his burdens had a wife who was pregnant! Oh the joy and happiness the tiger must feel.

"Damn that man, damn his wife, and damn his child!" Shā-Wēi cursed under his breath as he dropped the bread and staggered out into the opening. He was finally able to take in the true magnificence of marble building in front of him.

"His life is full of happiness, while I'm stuck obeying the law! Some law, it's supposed to punish those who have done only wrong, while I am-" Shā-Wēi stopped mid-sentence as he came upon his realization. He was wrongly punished. And Tai-Yang, even though he released him, had inflicted the punishment of ever even considering stealing that loaf of bread. And that's against the law to wrongly inflict punishment on someone who is innocent.

"I have done no wrong, and yet Tai-Yang has. And the law states that those who break the law must be punished. And Tai-Yang and his entire family must be punished!" Shā-Wēi smiled viciously and then glanced down at his parole papers and glared. But these accursed papers were standing in his way. "But even in my weak state, I am stronger than paper!" The panther hissed mercilessly.

He grabbed his papers and begun to rip then into little shreds. Each one tinier than the last. All the, Shā-Wēi was imagining that he was ripping Tai-Yang's throat open. This brought him great joy.

"Prepare, Tai-Yang… Hide your wife… Hide all you love…For I'm coming to take all of their lives." Shā-Wēi smirked angrily-yet at the same time crazily- and walked away from the marble palace in an angry-yet determined- huff.

-Nine months and one week later-

Tigress, along with Master Oogway, Master Shifu, her fellow Furious Five members, Master Thundering Rhino, Master Storming Ox, and Master Croc, sat quietly along with many of the citizens of Bùxiǔ de Xīwàng City. All of them were wearing some type of white mostly, save for Master Oogway who wore his green grandmaster's robe and Grandmaster Tai-Yang who wore both white and his green grandmaster's robe.

Tigress glanced up at the coffin and felt a very tiny lump start to form. Mistress Ming Yuè lay dead in that coffin. She was only twenty-five years old; she passed away after giving birth to her and Tai-Yang's daughter, Tigria. She only held her daughter for five minutes before she passed on. Tigress figured it was too painful, and that she wasn't strong enough. But Tigress knew that she was happier now.

Tigress, who was sitting next to him, glanced over at Master Tai-Yang. She could tell he had been crying, and she didn't blame him for it. He just lost the love of his life. Tigress, feeling sympathetic for the man next to her, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Tai-Yang smiled at her, which she returned slightly.

Then Tigress glanced down and saw Tigria looking up at her father with the curiousness that any child her age would have. Tigria was a very unique tiger. She, like both of her parents, was an Indochinese tiger, but the similarities ended there. Tigria, unlike her parents, had snow white fur and black stripes and she had big round eyes the exact same color as sapphires.

"_Poor Tigria,"_ Tigress thought to herself. _"She'll never know her mother. But at least she still has her father."_

Without a second thought on that subject, Tigress returned her attention to the funeral service for the beloved Mistress of Bùxiǔ de Xīwàng City.

-Later that night-

Silence. The only sound that could be heard inside the entire Marble Palace was itty bitty Tigria's happy giggles and gurgles. Tai-Yang had gone to put her down to bed, and was in the room just down the hall from the dining room that Tigress and the other masters currently sat in. A gourmet meal, their dinner, sat in front of them… but nobody felt like eating.

"It took awhile, but I believe Tigria's finally asleep." Tai-Yang said as he walked back into the room and took his seat at the head of the table. "Once again, thank you all for coming. This means so much to me."

"It was the least we could do." Ox smiled kindly at him.

"Ming Yuè will always be in all of our hearts." Shifu said.

"She is in a better place now." Tai-Yang said, with just the hint of sadness in his voice.

"You still have Tigria." Tigress spoke up. "And she is Ming Yuè's legacy."

"Yes," Tai-Yang smiled weakly at Tigress. "Tigria is her legacy."

"Speaking of Tigria," Master Oogway said, a small smile appearing on his face. "Would you mind if I pay her a small visit?"

"Of course not Oogway, just do not wake her up. I do not want to be up all night trying to get her to sleep." Tai-Yang joked lightly. There was a small chuckle to go through the group as Master Oogway left for the nursery.

The group sat in silence for a moment, not knowing what to do except attempt to eat the meal in front of them. After about ten more minutes of this, Thundering Rhino stood up. "Well, I thank you for the meal and I'm sorry once again for your loss, but I believe it's time we return to Gongmen City."

"We should be heading back to the Valley as well." Master Shifu announced. He turned to Tigress and Mantis. "Would you two please fetch Master Oogway and tell him we should be leaving."

"Yes Master," Tigress and Mantis said in unison and left to find the elderly turtle, with Mantis riding on Tigress's shoulder. They found him looking out of the window into the night. They could hear light snoring which they quickly figured was Tigria's.

"Master Oogway, we're leaving soon." Mantis spoke up.

"Come here you two," Master Oogway said. Tigress and Mantis exchanged glances but Tigress walked over to join the elderly grandmaster. "It's a magnificent city isn't it? Such grace and eloquence and elite power in one city."

"It is pretty cool, Master." Mantis said.

"Amazing," Tigress said.

"But," Oogway's small smile turned into a frown. "I sense a great danger in the city. One that is far away from being a threat and yet more deadly than any poison. One that we cannot stop or control. "As quickly as Oogway's smile vanished, it reappeared. "But I also see a light of purity and goodness. One that we can help grow and learn."

Before Tigress or Mantis could question the turtle, they heard a happy giggle and all three masters turned and walked over to the crib, and sure enough, little Tigria was awake. She looked up and spotted Tigress first. She smiled and giggled at the other tiger, which caused Oogway and Mantis and even Tigress to smile.

"So much for not waking her up." Mantis said.

"We better get going, the others will want to-"Tigress stopped short when she saw what looked light a sky blue light coming from the crib.

All three of the masters had to double take. The crib? That was impossible! Tigria was in there… unless. Oogway, Mantis, and Tigress glanced into the crib just in time to see an orb of sky blue light forming on top of Tigria's belly. Tigria began to laugh loudly; completely unaware of what was happening. Soon, the orb of light stopped growing but it got brighter and brighter and brighter until…

BANG!

Tigress blinked her eyes open slowly. It took a minute for the blinding light to disappear from her vision, but once it did, she could see Oogway and Mantis not too far from her. And the other masters had come rushing in to see what happened. Shifu and Rhino were helping Oogway to his feet, Monkey and Ox were checking on Mantis, Croc and Viper were helping Tigress to her feet, and Tai-Yang had rushed to his daughter's side.

"We're ok, we're ok." Tigress says after she is standing.

"What happened in here?" Ox asks examining the room. Tigress looked around and was shocked. Black ash was covering everything, even the three masters. And it seemed that the ash was less heavy as you got closer to the crib, it was up until the point that there was no ash at all.

"Is Tigria ok?" Mantis asked.

"She's fine!" Tai-Yang said as he cradled his daughter in his arms. "What happened in here?" Tai-Yang asks.

Oogway, Tigress, and Mantis exchanged surprised glances. Did what just happened really happen? Did Tigria just unwillingly and unknowingly cause an explosion with an orb of bright blue light? Could a mere week-old tiger cub have caused something like this? Something so extraordinary and powerful?

"That light…" Oogway said in a voice that was the equivalent of a whisper.

The conversation that Tigress and Mantis had just had with Oogway moments before came back to them. He talked of a light of purity and goodness. Could Oogway have been talking about Tigria? Or was it all some freaky coincidence?

Tigria's laughter caused all of the Masters to jump; it had been so quiet for a few moments that it had scared them slightly. Tigress's amber eyes met with Tigria's sapphire ones, and Tigria giggled and gurgled happily.

"You wouldn't believe us if we told you." Tigress said.

-Outside the Marble Palace, about an Hour later-

After the ash had been cleaned off and Tigria had been layed down to bed, the group of Masters was standing outside the Marble Palace, waiting for a cart big enough to take them all to the docks so they could get on their respective boats and head home.

Tigress stood there, bored out of her mind, at the end of the group replaying the events of the past two hours in her head. She was both surprised and astounded by what Tigria could do. _"Is it possible that someone like Tigria could do something like that?"_

But Tigress was caught short from her thoughts when she saw a panther with night black fur and cold, silver eyes wearing silver pants, black boots, a blue-gray, long-sleeved, brass buttons and ambulates on the shoulders, and black hat with gold trim. He seemed to be glaring at something behind Tigress.

Tigress, utterly sacred of the intense hatred and anger in the panther's eyes, turned to see nothing more than the Marble Palace. Tigress glanced back again, but this time followed the panther's gaze and saw what he was glaring at Tai-Yang's silhouette, Tigress could tell just by looking at him that he was cradling Tigria in his arms.

Tigress's curiosity was perked. Why would this panther be so angry at Tai-Yang? Tigress turned around and was surprised to see the panther staring at her with an unreadable expression. This made Tigress extremely uncomfortable and, for some odd reason, nervous.

The panther then raised his brow at her, nodded toward the window in which Tai-Yang still was, and then glanced back at Tigress again. The female tiger understood the message clearly. _'Are you two related in anyway?'_ Tigress's eyes widen ever so slightly with a sudden rush of fear as she shook her head. The panther nodded and turned away.

It was then that Tigress noticed the man approaching the panther. A forty-something, warthog in a similar uniform that the panther was wearing. The warthog caught Tigress's attention; she could've sworn that she saw him before. Then it hit her _"He's a criminal… I saw him on a wanted poster a few weeks ago."_

Then Tigress saw what the warthog was handing to the panther. A picture. Tigress squinted her eyes and saw who it was of, Tai-Yang and newborn Tigria. For whatever reason, Tigress did not like this. Then the panther looked over his shoulder at her again and saw that she was watching. Smirking, the panther turned back to her, so she could see what he was going to do next. Both curious and terrified, Tigress raised her brow at the panther. With his smirk growing even louder, the panther ripped the picture into many pieces in such a violent and blood-thirsty way, that Tigress could only gasp. Thankfully none of her fellow masters heard her do it. When the panther was done, he glanced up to see Tigress staring at him with an appalled look on her face. And even though she couldn't hear him, due to all the noise of the city, Tigress could tell that he was laughing. And he continued to laugh as he walked away with the warthog and disappeared into the city crowd.

"Tigress?" Tigress jumped at the sound of Oogway's voice.

"Y-Yes master?" Tigress stammered, both startled by Oogway and still appalled by what the panther did. She didn't like being this way.

"Are you alright?" Oogway asked. "What were you looking at?"

"Nothing Master. I was just thinking." Tigress lied. She felt bad about lying to the Grandmaster, but did not want to worry Oogway about what she just saw.

"Well, you just seemed a little quiet; I was just making sure you were ok." Oogway smiled at her. No doubt referring to the incident that just happened no more than two hours ago.

"Thank you master, for your concern. But I can assure you that I am fine." Tigress said.

"The cart's here!" Monkey shouted to them.

With that being said, the ten masters boarded the cart and left for the dock. Tigress, who was sitting close to the window. Glanced out the window and saw the panther and warthog walking in the street. The uneasy feeling returned to Tigress. In an attempt to make it go away, she looked away from the window and sat back in her seat. Completely unaware that this would not be the last time she would see that panther…

**Ok, before any of you asked:**

**1; The panther is the bad guy.**

**2; Po will make an appearance next chapter**

**3; TiPo will be **_**one**_** of the main couples.**

**4; You are free to leave a review.**

**Tell me what you think! Pretty, pretty please?!**


	2. Chapter 1

**To: **

**Dajuanwilliams: Thanks!**

**Pandamaster97720: I intend to continue this story!**

**Enjoy!**

-About Seven Months after Lord Shen's Defeat-

Winter had finally arrived to the Valley of Peace. Bringing its sugar looking snow and the joyous feeling of the holiday season along with it. This feeling alone had seemed to effect the entire population of the valley. Including Po, his father, Master Shifu, and the Furious Five.

Said Kung Fu Masters were even helping in the set-up for the Winter Feast that was to take place the next day at the Noodle Shop. Po, who snuck off to finish his father's Winter Festival gift, was sitting quietly in his old room, putting the finishing touches on his father's gift. A remake of the Sun Lantern he made for his father as a cub.

"And… Almost… Done!" Po smiled happily as he set his paintbrush bake in the tiny jar of gold colored paint.

"I see that you abandoned the spoon idea." A female voice said from nearby. Po turned to see Tigress standing below the door to his room. A small smile on her face.

"How long have you been there?" Po smiled back. He was always in a better mood when Tigress was around.

"Not long. The other's were wondering where you were." Tigress said walking over to her friend's side. "I figured you'd be here."

"You figured correctly." Po laughed.

Tigress picked up the Sun Lantern as gently as she could and examined it. It was pretty good. It was basically a painting of Po and Mr. Ping making noodles. Po did a wonderful job of painting, but it was amateur at best.

"You're a lousy painter." Tigress teased the panda. Po stood up quickly, well as quickly as he could, and took the lantern back.

"You think that you're so funny, don't you?" Po teased right back.

"You know I'm kidding Po. I like it." Tigress reassured her friend.

"And I like the way you always tease me." Po chuckled as he punched Tigress playfully in the arm. And immediately regretting it, for he forgot how "Hardcore" she was and winced at the pain his hand was experiencing.

"_If only he knew…"_ Tigress thought.

Then they heard sounds of surprised gasps and shouts of wonder come from the restaurant below. Then, just as the two Masters were about to head down to see what all the commotion was, Monkey burst into the room. "You two better come see who just arrived!"

Tigress and Po exchanged glances. Po shrugged slightly and then went to follow his primate friend down to the restaurant; he was then followed by Tigress.

-In the Noodle Shop-

"Well, what do you know?" Po asked to know one in particular.

Master Ox and Master Storming Ox, wearing thick, dark brown hooded cloaks (Po assumed it was because of the cold weather), and Tigress took note of the letter that Croc held in his hand, were standing in the doorway to the shop.

The two masters smiled slightly as fans came to greet them. But Master Shifu put a stop to that. "Masters Croc and Ox, we welcome you. What has brought you to this fine establishment?" Shifu asked.

"He does know that my dad charges people to say that kind of stuff, right?" Po asked Tigress and Monkey.

"Why does he do that?" Monkey asked.

"The same reason he gives out 'Free-Noodle-Coupons'." Po stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

Croc and Ox exchanged nervous glances. "Is there anywhere we could talk in private?" Ox asked.

Po turned to his father. "Dad?"

"You could use the basement!" Mr. Ping chirped in happily.

-A few minutes later in the basement-

Ox and Croc sat upon two barrels at the end of a tiny basement. Viper, Mantis, and Shifu sat upon some barrels at the side of the basements. Po, Tigress, Monkey, and Mr. Ping sat on the stairs while Crane just stood beside Vipers' barrel.

"So, what brings you two from Gongmen City?" Po asked once everyone was comfortable.

Croc handed the panda the letter. "See for yourself."

Po grabbed the letter. It was sealed off by a stamp with the Chinese symbol for Tiger on it. Po opened carefully. It was a short letter, but Po read it aloud anyway.

"City has fallen. The people are terrified. I have been exiled to small house on the edge of the city with my Palace's staff. My child is safe but I need your help, my friends. Come alone, or my people will suffer. Come as quickly as possible. Signed Tai-Yang, Former Grandmaster of the Marble Palace in Bùxiǔ de Xīwàng City."

"What?" The Five, Mr. Ping, and even Shifu asked in a surprised/shocked tone.

"Is that really what it says, Po?" Crane asked.

Po nodded, his face showing his surprise and concern, as he handed his avian friend the letter.

"This is gravely serious." Shifu said.

"Grandmaster Tai-Yang was able to defeat all of the bandits of the Haijin Province all by himself." Viper stated as she read the letter over Crane's shoulder.

"Whoever did this, had to be strong, cunning, and resourceful. Very resourceful." Mantis stated.

"He didn't say who did this exactly, but we have reason to believe it was a panther. One who's fur is dark as night and heart as hard as stone." Master Ox said.

When Ox said that, Tigress immediately thought of one man. One she didn't know, yet only seen once before. The panther she thought of was the one she saw four years ago outside of the Marble Palace. The one whose intense hatred of Tai-Yang led him to mercilessly tear up a picture of him and infant Tigria. Tigress felt her heartbeat quicken. It couldn't possibly be the same panther? Could it?

"What does this Tai-Yang mean by 'My child is safe' exactly?" Mr. Ping asked quietly. Startling Tigress out of her thoughts.

"Grandmaster Tai-Yang has a daughter, who is probably four-years-old by now. He probably sent her away when the city was taken over." Croc explained.

A silence fell upon the group for a few more moments as the letter was passed around so everyone had a chance to read it. The silence lasted a bit too long than anyone would have liked as this new information sunk in.

"Students," Shifu said as he stood up to face his students. "We leave in one hour. Prepare to leave immediately." His students bowed to their master. "Mr. Ping, I trust what was spoken about here will remain confidential until I say otherwise."

Mr. Ping nodded. "Of course, Master Shifu. You have my word."

"Excellent," Shifu turned to face his students once again. "Students, prepare yourselves for anything. Who knows what we will face once in Bùxiǔ de Xīwàng City?" Shifu told his students grimly.

"Yes Master," Po and the Five bowed to Shifu and then headed upstairs to prepare for their journey.

-Ten minutes later. In Po's old room-

Using the backpack his dad gave him when he went out to defeat Lord Shen, Po packed his sleeping mat, a blanket, some snacks (Such as Peaches, Apples, and Dumplings), and a pouch with about Seventeen-hundred Yuan's in to the backpack.

"Po?" Said panda turned to see Tigress standing under his door once again.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Po joked.

Tigress allowed a smile to cross her face, but it disappeared quickly. "Your father wants to know if he should pack us a lunch or anything."

"Nah. It's only a nine hour boat ride. I've got some food for us to eat. Oh, that reminds me." Po said as he reached over and grabbed a painting of him and his dad when Po was probably about six years old. He smiled at the picture and placed it in his backpack.

Tigress smiled and started to leave but Po stopped her. "Hey Tigress,"

"Yes Po?"

"Before you left on a journey, did you ever… Did you ever get these feelings?"

"Feelings?" Tigress raised her brow. "What do you mean by 'Feelings'?"

"I don't know. Like… Like something unbelievably major was going to happen, but you don't know what." Po said.

Tigress was taken aback. She did experience these types of feelings before. The first time was the day Shifu came and took her away from Bao Gu Orphanage. The next time she experienced this was when her and the rest of the five went out on one of their first missions. Monkey was seriously injured. She didn't experience this feeling until several months ago, when she, Po, and the rest of the five arrived at Gongmen City. **(A/N: Do I have to explain this one at all? We all saw the movie.)**

"Once in a great while." Tigress answered. She sat down by Po. "Why do you ask?"

"I feel like something big is going to happen once we get to Bùxiǔ de Xīwàng City." Po said.

All to suddenly, the memories of what happened in Shen's Cannon Factory came rushing back to Tigress. Discovering Po had disobeyed her, desperately trying to reach him in time, Po getting blasted out of the factory, and his apparent "death".

"Po," Tigress said.

"Yeah Tigress?" Po asked.

"Try and be a bit more cautious this time around." Po was shocked by Tigress's demand. "I-I mean- _We_ don't want what happened in Gongmen City to happen again."

It was moments like these that Tigress was grateful for the fact that she had orange fur.

"I'll be more careful this time, Tigress. But… Uh… I can't make any promises…" Po smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

The first thing Po realized about his feline friend was the sudden intensity that came into her eyes. The intensity scared the panda.

"Po, I'm serious." Tigress narrowed her eyes at him. "We all thought you were dead. We thought we lost you." Tigress said, her voice cracking ever so slightly. Then she glanced down to the floor below her and frowned. "I thought I lost you…"

Surprise. That was the feeling Tigress had when Po embraced her for the third time. She allowed herself to relax and a smile to come across her face. But not before voicing one last piece of advice. No, it was more like a command. "And Po, one more thing. If someone is pointing a cannon or any other type of weapon at you, stop acting like a hero, and for the god's sakes, MOVE!"

Po released Tigress from the hug and held up his hands in defense. "I promise! I promise!"

"Hey lovebirds, get down here! Master Shifu's looking for you two!" Mantis shouted up. Tigress blushed but was able to hide it.

But it was moments like these that made Po wish he had orange fur.

-Nine hours and Forty-Five minutes later-

It was nearly sunset when they arrived at Bùxiǔ de Xīwàng City docks. Everyone was grateful for Po packing the food. Due to the frigid cold that had arrived, Shifu, Po, and the Five had brought their very own hooded cloaks, save for Mantis who just stood on top of Monkey's head and under his own cloak.

"Ok, we're here. Now what?" Mantis asked once they were walking on the city streets.

"Find someone who knows how we can find Grandmaster Tai-Yan-"Shifu started.

"STOP!" Two voices hissed at the red panda.

They all looked behind them to find the sources of the voices. Two young boys, not a day older than seven, rushing toward them.

One of them was a lion with brown fur, emerald green eyes, and a tuft of ebony color fur on top of his head, probably the start of his growing mane. He was wearing a navy blue shirt, a pine green jacket, light brown and cream striped pants, and dark brown boots.

The other one was a Chinese Jungle Cat with tawny-grey fur and chocolate brown eyes. He was wearing a white shirt, a blood-red vest with brass buttons, navy blue pants, and brown shoes.

"Bloody Hell man, you wanna be thrown in jail?!" The Jungle Cat asked.

"Beg your pardon, child?" Shifu asked, just as confused as everyone else. And a bit surprised at the Jungle Cat's outburst.

"Lord Shā-Wēi forbids anyone to talk about-"The lion explained. He then started to look around worriedly as if checking to see if anyone was listening. "Tai-Yang…" The lion whispered.

"Why?" Po asked.

"He's the one who put him in exile and took over the city!" The jungle cat exclaimed.

"We were no match for him…" The lion sighed sadly.

Po knelt down to face th kids. "What are your names?"

"Zìyóu" The Jungle Cat answered. **(A/N: Pronounce it like this: Z-Eye-You)**  
"Lion." The Lion answered.

"Well, Zìyóu and Lion, we need you two do us a favor." Po told them.

"What's the favor?" Lion asked.

"Can you take us to…You know who? We're friends of his and he summoned us." Po asked.

"Guess it wouldn't hurt." Lion shrugged.

"But what about your grandfather? Doesn't he want you home in an hour?" Zìyóu asked.

"As long as I'm back before sundown, he won't care." Lion told his friend. Then turned to the Kung Fu Masters. "Follow me!"

Lion and Zìyóu led them down the street. It was then that the Kung Fu Masters realized something horrifying; the citizens Bùxiǔ de Xīwàng City were living in poverty! Men, women, and children scattered the streets. All of them begging for money or food! Their clothes dirty and ragged.

Po, never having been here before, was just astonished. But the other Kung Fu Masters, having been here multiple times, were horrified at what they saw.

"At the end of the day you're another day older." A goose said as the group walked by.

"That's all you can say for the life of the poor." Another goose said glumly.

"It's a struggle and a war, and nobody gives us anything at all." A little piglet said.

"And you're another day colder and another day closer to dying." The piglets' father grumbled under its breath.

"Oh no! Here he comes!" A small boar child shouted. Everyone on the side of the streets slammed themselves against the walls or hid behind large items.

"Shit!" Zìyóu cursed under his breath, surprising the Kung Fu Masters. He and Lion rushed over and slammed the Kung Fu Masters up against the nearby wall.

"What's going-"Crane started to ask.

"No talking! Stand perfectly still!" Lion hissed at them. Startled by the intensity and urgent-ness in his voice, did as the child was told.

Pretty soon, a cart came rolling by as fast as it possibly could. Three men were riding the cart. Two were steering it, and the other was riding on top of it.

The two men who were steering it were an alligator and a Chinese Raccoon Dog **(A/N: No joke. Real animal.)**. They were somewhere in their early forties and wearing the same outfit. Silver pants, black boots, a grey-blue jacket with onyx buttons, and small, black hats.

"_Where have I seen those two before?"_ All the Kung Fu Masters thought. But it was the man riding on top of the cart who caught Tigress's attention.

A panther who was about forty-one-years-old with fur as black as night, cold, unforgiving silver eyes, and a cruel sneer plastered onto his face. He was wearing silver pants, knee-length, black boots, and grey-blue jacket with gold buttons and ambulates on his shoulders and a black hat with a silver-and-red colored feather sticking out of one side.

"_Gods no… Not him…"_ Tigress thought, for the first time since Po's "death", truly afraid.

Po apparently noticed this, and put a hand on her shoulder at an attempt to relax her, it worked, but only slightly.

"Look at the righteous soaring by, the ones who don't hear the children crying." A female antelope cursed once they were gone.

"C'mon, we can go know. They're gone." Lion said as he and Zìyóu pulled the Masters along as quickly as they could.

One woman, a bunny who looked both sixteen and eighty at the same time caught Viper's attention. The bunny chugged down another bottle of whiskey.

"What has Shā-Wēi done to this city?" Viper asked as she slid along beside Tigress.

"Turned the city right towards hell…" Tigress shook her head.

"Mother, who are those people?" Croc heard someone say.

"Ignore them; they could be working for Shā-Wēi." He heard another person say.

Not too long after that, they came across a squirrel wearing the same outfit as they saw the alligator and raccoon dog wearing earlier. The squirrel was standing behind one side of a of a cast iron gate. The others were on the opposite side. The squirrel took notice of them. "Identification please."

"I believe _this_ will cover it my good man." Lion said handing him some papers. The squirrel read them and his eyes immediately widened in shock. "Young lord Xīnzàng… Forgive me, I-I didn't recognize you."

"You are forgiven sir." He turned and gestured to the Masters. "These people are my grandfather's guest and-"Lion gestured to Zìyóu "This is my guest."

"Of course sir," The squirrel said as he opened the gate and handed Lion back his papers. "You and your company may pass, Young Lord Xīnzàng."

Lion nodded his head. "Thank you, sir."

Once out of ear shot, Shifu walked up to Lion. "Young Lord Xīnzàng?"

"My father was Lord Xīnzàng as is my grandfather. Thus making me Young Lord Xīnzàng." Lion smirked.

"Selfish little rich-boy he is!" Zìyóu smirked teasingly.

"Ah shut it, will ya?!" Lion asked, shoving Zìyóu a little bit.

"What do you mean your father _was_ Lord Xīnzàng?" Ox asked. Lion visibly tensed up. Zìyóu placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

"His father died on the battle front when he was a baby. His mother died during childbirth, so he lives with his Grandfather." Zìyóu explained.

"We are so sorry, we didn't know." Viper said soothingly.

"Its fine, it was years ago. Besides," He turned toward the Masters and smiled. "It's the present that counts!"

Po, remembering the way he learned that exact same lesson, smiled. "Truer words have never been spoken."

-With Tai-Yang, about a Half-an-Hour later-

Tai-Yang sat in his room, looking out the window, the lone one in the house. The sun had set about fifth-teen minutes ago, the full moon shone brightly on the snow covered ground below, and it had started to snow. Tai-Yang took notice of the rushing river below him. Its water moved at a face pace. Tai-Yang knew the river like the back of his hand. It was the Lā Xīn Shuǐ River, the River of Rushing Waters. It was a good eighteen-foot deep, and around this time of year, was ice cold.

Tai-Yang sighed deeply and painfully. He couldn't help but think of the time when he still dared to dream. He dreamed of a time when love was blind and the gods were forgiving and the world was an exciting song. But, about two years after the birth of his beautiful daughter, Tigria, it all went wrong. Life killed his dream. One day, he had a vision. One so horrifying, for Tigria's protection, sent her to live at an Inn at the next town.

Then he felt it, the will shattering pain that he had been experiencing for the past two months. He slapped a hand to his mouth and as quickly as his weakened body would allow, he stood up and rushed to the nearest wash-room. He came across a drain and knelt down beside it and allowed his muscles to contract and the coughing to begin.

This lasted about five-minutes before it stopped. Tai-Yang shivered violently and allowed himself to look down. Blood, his blood, was making its way down the drain. Noticing it was covering some of his hands, so he leaned over to a wooden bucket (which he knew was filled with water and a rag) and grabbed it. His hand was shaken but that didn't matter to Tai-Yang. What mattered was washing away the blood before one of his staff members came along and saw him.

He poured some of the water on top of the blood, which quickened the bloods journey down the drain, and grabbed the rag quickly and began wiping his hands. No sooner had he finished this then did a goose come waddling in.

"Master Tai-Yang," The goose started.

"Yes, Wu-Shi, what is it?" Tai-Yang asked.

"They're here." Was all Wu-Shi stated, with a smile, before he walked away.

Tai-Yang's eyes widened in sudden hope as he stood up. His chest experiencing pain in the process. He winced and grabbed his chest as he slowly made his way down to the common area.

Po, the Five, Shifu, Ox, and Croc were amazed by what they saw. A little wooden room with a kitchen with functioning stove top and a small, wooden table with matching chairs was what they saw. Along with a wooden staircase leading who-knows-where. There were no windows.

Zìyóu and Lion glanced around. "We better get goin'. My grandfather's probably pretty worried by now." Lion spoke up.

"Not a very wise decision, young man." A male voice said. The group turned to see Tai-Yang descending the stairway to greet them.

Po noticed something almost immediately about Tai-Yang. He seemed… weaker. Like he was ill. And, if it was even possible, Tai-Yang looked pale. Po stole a glance at Tigress, who for as far as he knew was perfectly healthy, and then back to Tai-Yang. _"Yep, definitely paler."_

"It's snowing terribly hard out there. You two should stay here until it lightens up." Tai-Yang told them.

Noticing how that only calmed Zìyóu's nerves, Po spoke up. "I'll write a note to your grandfather explaining everything."

Lion smiled at the panda gratefully. "Thank You, Dragon Warrior."

Tai-Yang smiled at Po. "Ah, so you're the Dragon Warrior." Said Grandmaster bowed. "It's an honor to meet you, Dragon Warrior."

"You can just call me Po." Po smiled as he returned the bow. "But I'm sorry we had to end up meeting like this." Po said softly, because he didn't want to ruin the temporarily happy moment.

"Its fine, Po." Tai-Yang said. "You're all here and we can begin."

The Masters exchanged curious glances. "Begin planning what, Tai-Yang?" Shifu asked.

"The liberation of the city of course!" Tai-Yang exclaimed.

"Yes!" Zìyóu cheered under his breath while Lion and the other Kung Fu Masters smiled.

It was then Wu-Shi waddled in again. "Oh, Master, should I set the table?"

"Yes, Wu-Shi, set the table while I make dinner." Tai-Yang smiled.

"Don't worry about it, Tai-Yang, I'll cook." Po smiled as he made his way toward the kitchen.

"Po please, you're my-" Tai-Yang started.

"Hey, let the panda cook! He knows what he's doing!" Mantis said.

-One meal later-

"I'm glad that I listened to you, Mantis." Tai-Yang said. "That is the best meal I've had all Week."

"We're glad you listen to him too." Lion smiled as did Zìyóu.

"You're Welcome." Po said as he bowed his head. Then headed to douse the flame he used to cook super with.

"I'll get started on the dishes." Viper volunteered and Tigress stood to follow her.

"Thank you, you two." Tai-Yang said.

Once Po doused the flame he turned to the others. "So, Tai-Yang, what exactly are we going to do about liber-"Po asked as he set is arm down. "YEOUCH!" Po retracted his arm as quickly as he could. He turned it over and mentally cursed himself. A second degree burn was starting to form on his forearm.

"And the award for stupidest injury goes to…" Mantis joked. Monkey snickered at this.

"That's so funny I forgot to laugh!" Po rolled his eyes.

"Let me see." Tai-Yang said as he walked over to Po and examined the burn. "I believe we have some medical supplies upstairs. Follow me." Tai-Yang said as he and Po climbed the stairs.

"You'd think he would know better than to do that. Growing up in a restaurant and all." Viper said softly.

Tigress nodded. Then Viper smirked "I know you like him, Tigress." Viper whispered.

This caught Tigress off-guard, but she quickly regained her composure. "Viper you have been spending too much time with Monkey and Mantis."

"Only because you and Po are always sparing during training." Viper shot-back.

Tigress did not know how to reply to that, so she just kept her focus on her task at hand, in this case, the dishes. Viper smiled kindly at the tiger. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. Besides, in my opinion," Viper glanced back at the table to make sure no one was listening, for Tigress's sake. "You could do a lot worse."

"_I could do worse?"_ Tigress thought. She turned to Viper. "Viper what do you-"

"TAI-YANG! TAI-YANG!" Po's frantic screams from upstairs made all of them jump. "GUYS! GUYS! HELP, I NEED HELP!"

"Panda, what's going on-"Shifu shouted upstairs.

"A HEALER SOMEONE GO GET A HEALER, QUICK!" Po shouted down to them. Shifu, Croc, and the Five charged up the stairs as fast as they could.

"We'll go!" Zìyóu said quickly as he and Lion bolted out the front door.

"But the storm!" Ox shouted.

"We passed one on the way here! We'll be back in five minutes!" Lion called back. With that being said Ox could only shrug helplessly and charge up the stairs after his friends.

-With Po and Tai-Yang, a few minutes ago-

Tai-Yang handed Po some gauzes and some snow. "Snow is to help the burn, the gauzes is to cover it up so it-"Tai-Yang started to explain. But once again, the will shattering pain came to him. Tai-Yang coughed. He slapped a hand to his mouth in an attempt to muffle the sounds.

This did not go unnoticed by Po. "Is everything ok, Tai-Yang?"

Tai-Yang removed his hand from his mouth ever so slightly. Blood. His blood. Was covering his hand. _"Think fast old boy…"_

"Yes, everything is fine, Dragon Warrior." Tai-Yang lied. "I-I just need a glass of water. My throat's a bit soar." Tai-Yang didn't wait for the panda to reply and rushed off to the wash-room once again.

Po knew something was wrong with Tai-Yang. Right from the first moment they stepped into the house. The way he coughed, it wasn't normal. After bandaging up his arm, he walked in the general direction Tai-Yang went.

"Tai-Yang? Tai-Yang?" Po called out. He was passing by a room with a small, dim light coming out of it. "Tai-Yang?"

Po gasped and had to take a double take. Tai-Yang was huddled over a drain and coughing-no, it was more like hacking. And blood was pouring out of his mouth all-the-while. "Tai-Yang!" Po said a little louder than he wanted.

Tai-Yang didn't turn around. Instead, a low, painful groan escaped Tai-Yang. Then he fell backward. "TAI-YANG! TAI-YANG!" Po shouted. He rushed to the fallen masters' side. He was sweating, but his body was ice cold. Not knowing what else do to, Po shouted once again. "GUYS! GUYS! HELP, I NEED HELP!"

"Panda, what's going on-"Shifu shouted upstairs.

"A HEALER SOMEONE GO GET A HEALER, QUICK!" Po shouted down to them. He heard someone volunteer to go get a healer, he wasn't sure who it was but he didn't care, and the sound of footsteps pounding up the stairs. "Hang on buddy, help's on the way!"

"Po, what's going o-"Monkey asked as he made it to the door first, but stopped dead in his track. "What happened?!" By now, the other masters, minus Ox, had arrived at the door.

"He was coughing; there was blood, and then he just… He just fell!" Po explained.

"Get him to his room, quickly!" Shifu ordered.

Monkey, Po, Croc, and Tigress grabbed Tai-Yang and carried him to his room. Ox came pounding up the stairs. "What'd I miss?"

Viper, Crane, Mantis, and Shifu exchanged glances. _"Ok, how do we explain this?" _The four of them thought.

-About One hour later-

The healer came downstairs. A grim frown plastered onto his face.

"Well?" Croc asked. The healer, a middle-age goat, turned to the reptile. All he did was frown and shake his head.

"Thank you for coming anyway." Croc said sadly. The healer was about to leave, but turned back to the Masters, and Lion and Zìyóu who had not left. "I'd leave if I were you. Shā-Wēi will be coming here to execute Tai-Yang, and visitors are prohibited."

"And you know this how, exactly?" Mantis questioned.

"I've healed some of his men. He was talking to his head officer when I was healing some of his men. Dirty thieves the lot of them…" The healer told them grimly.

"When he is going to do this exactly?" Shifu asked.

The healer shrugged. "I don't know specifically, but I heard it was sometime before dawn." It was silent for a moment, and then the healer turned to Lion. "Aren't you Lord Xīnzàng grandson?" Lion and Zìyóu nodded. "You two should probably be going home. Your families are probably worried sick, and I wouldn't want to be hanging around here when Shā-Wēi arrives." It was more of a second warning to all of them then it was to the boys. Without another word being said, the healer left.

A silence so thick, you could cut it with a knife, set upon the group. It was welcomed grimly, of course, as the group let the harsh truth sink in. Tai-Yang was sick and dying, and he wasn't going to recover. Shā-Wēi, an apparently psychotic panther was taking over the city for the gods know why, and he was coming here to execute Tai-Yang and could be here at any moment. And visitors were not welcome. Period.

Lion cleared his throat. "Um… Could I get that note know? If it's not too much to ask, that is."

"Of course you can, Lion." Tigress told him. Being close to a desk with some paper, ink, and brush, she walked over and quickly scribbled a note explaining why Lion and Zìyóu have been gone for such a long time, how this came to be, what has happened since they arrived at the house, and an apology for the stress this might have caused. Making sure to apologize once again, she wrote her signature and folded the paper. Handing it to Lion, Tigress noticed that Lion and Zìyóu had been crying slightly.

"When… When we get back… Should we… You know…?" Zìyóu stammered.

"How long does it take for you to get back?" Tigress asked.

"Twenty to Twenty-Five minutes?" Lion said.

Tigress glanced at her comrades, who all nodded solemnly. Biting the inside of her cheek, Tigress nodded.

"Do you need escorts back to the city?" Monkey asked.

Lion shook his and Zìyóu turned to them. "No, we know the way around. We play around here during the summer." The masters nodded. Then Zìyóu added "We'll take the back route, just to be safe."

"Before you go," Po walked over to the kitchen, where leftover Bean Buns had been placed for later, and put them in a little box. Then handed them to the boys. "This is a thank you. For everything and an apology for what we've put you through."

As Zìyóu took the box, Lion raised his brow to the panda. "What's gonna happen to the city now?"

"Don't you guys have an heir to the city?" Po asked.

"Just Tai-Yang's daughter, Tigria." Zìyóu told him. "But she's only four."

It was like reality just gave all the Kung Fu masters a hard slap to the face. How could they forget little Tigria! Four-year-old, living who knows where, too young to take care of herself Tigria! If this Shā-Wēi person was coming here to execute Tai-Yang, was he planning to do the same to Tigria?

"Thank you boys, once again, for everything. I can guarantee you, this will not be the last time you shall see us." Shifu told them. Sensing that it was time to leave, Zìyóu and Lion smiled half-heartedly, and bowed. Then, without saying anything, left.

Once the door shut, and the masters new they were a good-distance away from the house, Ox spoke up. "Well… Now what do we do?"

"Two of us should stay here, so Tai-Yang won't be alone in his final hours. The rest of us should start heading toward…" Shifu trailed off. For once, he did not know what to do or where to go. They needed to find Tigria of course and tell her, in the nicest way possible, that her father had passed on. But that was the problem; none of them knew where Tigria was.

"E-Excuse me?" Wu-Shi asked quietly as he descended the stairs. He held a note in his hands.

"Yes, Wu-Shi? What is it?" Shifu asked.

"I have bad news and good news and then more bad news." Wu-Shi told them.

"What's the first bad news?" Crane asked reluctantly.

"Tai-Yang has started to hallucinate. He thinks Tigria is in the room with him." Wu-Shi said.

"What's the good news?" Viper asked hopefully.

"I overheard what the young lad said about Tigria, and assumed you would want to find her." Wu-Shi said. He waddled over to Shifu and handed him the note. "This is a note, delivered two weeks ago, by Tigria's foster family. An innkeeper and his wife and his child."

Shifu opened the note and read aloud "Dear Tai-Yang, You must send us more money. Tigria needs a doctor there's no time to lose…"

"Is this the other bad news?" Monkey asked. Wu-Shi shook his head. "Figures…"

"The Inn is in the next town. It will take you about a day to get there, at most." The Masters exchanged glances

Then Croc looked to Wu-Shi. "How do we get there?"

"Just follow the way the water in the river outback flows and you will reach the city within twenty-four hours." The Masters exchanged glances before Wu-Shi spoke up again. "The other staff and I… We feel… Well, there's no use in us staying any longer."

"Of course, you and the rest of the staff are dismissed. And if Tai-Yang could say it, I'm sure he would thank you for all the years of service and time you have given here and at the Marble Palace." Ox told them.

Wu-Shi nodded, grabbed his own cloak, and then headed out the door.

Shifu stood, gaining everyone's attention. Then he turned to Po and Tigress. "I want you two to stay here with Tai-Yang in his final hours."

"What about the rest of you guys?" Po asked.

"We will start to follow the river. We will all meet up with each-other at some point." Shifu told them.

Tigress and Po bowed to their master and comrades. "May the gods be with us all this night." Shifu told everyone. Then, He, what was left of the five, and Ox and Croc put on their cloaks and Monkey grabbed the note. The five sent their friends small smiles while Shifu nodded at them, while they left.

Once they left, Po and Tigress exchanged nervous glances. Po spoke up. "So… What do we do know?"

Causing Tigress to face-palm.

-Sometime around Nine PM-

Tigress just sat at the table fiddling with a loose string on her cloak. She and Po decided early on that they would wear them, in case they had to make a quick exit. She had just finished pulling in another bucket of water from the river.

She had locked the door after she came in. Just in case they needed some extra time for when Shā-Wēi finally showed up. Just when she was about to head upstairs to check on Po, who had been keeping Tai-Yang Company, he came walking down the steps. Frowning.

"How is he?" Tigress asked. Po set down the bowl he was carrying, they had been attempting to keep him cool and comfortable by applying wet rags to his forehead the only problem was that the rags dried up as soon as they were placed to his forehead. The panda didn't even bother to refill the bowl.

Po sighed and then turned to Tigress. "He should be going any second now."

Then they heard it. Marching. The two masters didn't have to check, they knew who was coming.

"We better get upstairs." Po said.

"Now." Tigress said.

Then, the two masters headed up the stairs.

-Meanwhile, with Tai-Yang-

Tai-Yang lay in his bed. He didn't know what was happening to him. But he ached unbelievably all over his body. Like he was about to collapse at any moment, even if he layed in bed.

Then he turned his head toward the dark side of his room. He couldn't really see anything. But he heard it. Laughter. The laughter of a happy little girl. His little girl. He smiled and reached his hand out to her.

"Tigria, it's turned so cold… Tigria, it's past your bedtime. You've played the day away And soon it will be night." Tigria, wearing a snow white, silk nightgown, smiled brightly and started to walk over to her father. "Come to me, Tigria, the light is fading. Don't you see the evening star appearing? Come to me, and rest against my shoulder. How fast the minutes fly away and every minute colder." Tigria stopped just out of Tai-Yang's reach. Tai-Yang smiled happily at his beloved daughter, whom he hadn't seen in nearly two years. "Hurry near, another day is dying. Don't you hear, the winter wind is crying? There's a darkness which comes without a warning But I will sing you lullabies and wake you in the morning."

Then, Tigria turned toward the door, gasped silently. Then she turned on her heels and disappeared.

Broken hearted by this, and scared as well, Tai-Yang didn't notice Po and Tigress walk in. Po knelt down beside him. "Tai-Yang, don't worry, Tigria will be here soon. Tai-Yang, she will be by your side."

This scared Tai-Yang. Hadn't he just seen Tigria mere moments ago? "Come… Tigria…" Tai-Yang attempted to sit up, but Po (as gently as he could) pushed him down. "My child… Where did you go?!" This time, it took both Po and Tigress to hold Tai-Yang down.

Tai-Yang looked worried and scared. Po and Tigress knew why, he thought Tigria was in the room with him. "Be at peace… Be at Peace evermore." Po attempted to soothe him.

"My Tigria…?" Tai-Yang choked out, his voice barely above a whisper.

Po thought about this for a moment. Then he smiled at Tai-Yang and then said."Shall live in my protection." Tai-Yang gasped in surprise but smiled.

"_You could do a lot worse."_ Viper's words echoed in Tigress's mind. But, at that moment, Tigress was assured that she couldn't do better!

"Take her now…" Tai-Yang whispered to the panda.

"Your daughter will want for nothing." Po assured the dying man.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! Tigress and Po heard someone bang on the door.

"My good man… You come from the gods in the heavens…" Tigress and Po could tell Tai-Yang was straining to talk.

"And none will ever harm Tigria, as long as I am living." Po said.

"OPEN THIS DOOR, TAI-YANG!" Tigress and Po knew they were running out of time.

Tai-Yang exhaled shakily. "The night grows ever colder."

"Then we will keep you warm." Tigress said as she covered Tai-Yang's body with yet another blanket.

"MEN, BREAK DOWN THE DOOR!" Po and Tigress heard someone shout.

"Take my child… I give her to your keeping…" Tai-Yang told Po and Tigress.

BANG! BANG! BANG! Po and Tigress knew that one more hit on the door would do it.

"Take shelter from the storm, Tai-Yang." Po told the dying master.

"For the Gods sake, please stay until I am sleeping." Tai-Yang once again turned his head once again. He saw his little girl, sitting on the floor, smiling up at her father with all the love she ever had for him. Tai-Yang smiled widely at his daughter. "And tell Tigria… I love her. And that I'll see her when I wake…"

Tai-Yang smile slowly faded as he exhaled for the last time. His eyes remained open, so Tigress leaned over and shut them.

BANG! CRASH! "YOU MEN SEARCH DOWN HERE, YOU TWO, FOLLOW ME!" A male voice from downstairs shouted.

Po and Tigress sighed. Tai-Yang had died, and they were caught.

"Who are you two?" Tigress and Po turned around reluctantly to be faced with a panther. The same panther they saw earlier today. The panther known as Shā-Wēi.

"We're Bao and Mei-Li," Po lied. Tigress figured it was so they could leave here without conflict. Tigress was praying to every god she knew that it would work. "We're servants of this man here." Po gestured to Tai-Yang's corpse. "We thought it was only right we stay with him in his final hours."

"Final hours?" Shā-Wēi questioned them. Tigress and Po nodded. Shā-Wēi walked over to Tai-Yang's body and pressed two fingers to his neck, in search of a pulse. "How long ago did he die?"

"A few minutes ago, sir." Tigress told him.

"Alright, Bao and Mei-Li, explain this to me. Why was the door locked?" Shā-Wēi asked, his eyes narrowed at the Panda and Tiger.

"When I was fetching water from the river, I must have accidentally locked it once I came in. I'm sorry, sir." Tigress told him.

Shā-Wēi examined them a few minutes more as if searching for a lie. This made Po and Tigress nervous. Then, he raised a brow at Tigress. "It seems to me that we may have me."

"I assure you sir, your face is not one I would forget." Tigress mentally smirked at her little inside insult.

"Hmm, I see." Shā-Wēi walked back over to Tai-Yang's body and started at it, with a disturbing smile on his face. "Tai-Yang has a daughter, does he not?"

Po and Tigress weren't sure if they should answer that. But, finally, Po spoke up. "I'm not sure sir, he might have one… But we're not positive."

"I see." Shā-Wēi walked over to one of his men, who handed him a sword. "I also see that you are lying."

This caught Tigress and Po off-guard. "W-What do you mean?" Po stammered.

"I know who you are. You're Master Tigress and the Dragon Warrior." Shā-Wēi smirked crazily. "I'm not as dumb as you two think." Shā-Wēi unsheathed the sword. "So, which one of you would like to see Tai-Yang first?"

Po and Tigress shared wide eyed glances. The other two men unsheathed their own sword.

"_And Po, one more thing. If someone is pointing a cannon or any other type of weapon at you, stop acting like a hero, and for the god's sakes, MOVE!"_ Tigress's command from earlier replayed themselves inside Po's head. He knew he promised her, but he'd have to break that promise just a little bit.

Po, not wasting a minute longer, delivered a swift kick to Shā-Wēi's chest. Sending the panther back into the arms of his men.

"Sorry dude, but we can't let you do that." Po told Shā-Wēi.

In response, Shā-Wēi growled and snapped his fingers. The two men dropped the panther and started advancing toward the two masters.

"I'll handle these two," Tigress told Po as she readied herself. "You take Shā-Wēi, Po."

Po nodded as Tigress lunged at the two men. Po ran past them and attempted to deliver a swift punch to Shā-Wēi, but the panther blocked it.

And sure enough, a battle ensured. Tigress easily being able to take on and defeat Shā-Wēi's men. All she had to do was disarm them of their swords and deliver a few kicks and punches to their chests and heads.

Po on the other hand was having some trouble. Shā-Wēi, holding tightly to his sword, had the upper advantage. But Po fought on. "My duty is too the law, panda!" Shā-Wēi sneered. "Neither one of you or your precious masters have any right in my city. So you might as well surrender now!"

"You are ten kinds of crazy, aren't you?" Po asked Shā-Wēi after he was almost cut in half by the sword. Seizing the opportunity, Shā-Wēi kicked Po in the gut as hard as he could and brought the sword down as hard as he could.

The kick left Po gasping for air while Shā-Wēi's sword was brought down onto Po's left eye and cheek. Leaving a bleeding gash on his face. Shā-Wēi kicked him a second time, causing Po to be sent sliding into Tigress, and the wall at the far end of the room.

"PO!" Was all Tigress could say before Po collided with her. When both of them regained their composure, they saw Shā-Wēi advancing at them, one sword in each hand, and a deranged smile plastered onto his face. Po and Tigress pressed themselves against the wall. They were cornered.

"You think you know Justice like I do? I was born inside a Jail and spent most of my life inside a Jail!" Shā-Wēi snarled at them. "I was born with scum like you and your friends! I am from the gutter too!"

"_Way out… Way out… There's got to be a way-"_ Po stopped mid-thought when he saw the window immediately to his side. And praise the gods, Po could more than likely fit through it! He knew there was a river outside, but he didn't know how close to the house it was. But that didn't matter right now.

Po turned to Tigress and whispered. "Tigress, do you trust me?"

"What?" Tigress whispered back.

"Do you trust me?" Po whispered back.

"Of course Po!" Tigress didn't know why Po would ask such a stupid question. Especially right now.

"Then I'm sorry…" Po whispered back.

"Sorry? Sorry about what?" Tigress whispered back.

"This." Po grabbed Tigress by both arms, and before she could protest, Po launched himself out the window, breaking the glass in the process, and sending both he and Tigress falling towards the icy river below.


	3. Chapter 2

**Happy Fourth-of-July everyone! And if you don't celebrate this holiday than just roll with it. **

**To:**

**Pandamaster97720: I'm glad that you like the story! **

**Newguy100: Thank you so much! I didn't even consider this story in that kind of way! But thank you for the review! You made my day!**

**Sypro395: Thanks!**

**Now, Lion and Zìyóu will come back. But not for awhile, and they will be all grown up. This chapter focuses on Tigria and the Kung Fu Masters. **

**Also, this chapter features **_**Castle on a Cloud**_** as a song. I just couldn't imagine it as regular thoughts of Tigria. Just so you know.**

**Enjoy!**

If Tigress wasn't alert before, she certainly was now. The icy cold water sent the most brutal of shocks to her system. The moment her and Po were underneath the water, without even thinking, she rocketed upward, but something-or someone- held her down for a moment.

Bewildered, Tigress glanced down to see Po holding her down. His jade eyes pleading with her as the rapidly moving water carried the two along. Tigress didn't understand, that is, until Po pointed upward. Then, Tigress understood completely.

If they stayed underwater long enough, the water would carry them away from the house and Shā-Wēi would just think they jumped out the window to their deaths. But then again, Shā-Wēi was smarter than he let on.

When Po finally released Tigress, she felt as if she would burst. She rocketed toward the surface with speed even she didn't know she had, and happily filled her lungs with the sweet, sweet air her lungs craved. But another thing she realized once she reached the surface, it seemed to get colder. Tigress didn't know if it was because she just took a swim in colder than ice, river water, or if the temperature dropped while she and Po were with Tai-Yang.

Tigress couldn't help but feel guilty about leaving Tai-Yang's body with that Monster. But there was nothing they could do about it now. And Shā-Wēi wouldn't be able to do anything to him now. He might do something with the body in an attempt to set an example to the city's people. But Tai-Yang would no longer suffer.

"Can you seem him?" Po panted out. Tigress glanced up. Nothing but trees, the starry night sky, and snow.

"No." Tigress said. Then she glanced at the panda that just saved her life. She drew back her arm and punched said panda as hard as she could in the shoulder.

"O-O-OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Po whined.

"For not warning me about what you were going to do!"

"What? No 'Thanks for saving my life, Po'? No 'I owe you one, Po'?" Po asked as he rubbed his shoulder.

Tigress sighed and rolled her eyes. "Thank you for saving my life, Po." Tigress said dryly.

"That's better."

"Don't make me hurt you, panda." Tigress said as she and Po continued to float down the river.

-A little ways away, about five minutes later-

Shifu, Ox and Croc, and what was left of the Furious Five walked quietly along the river. Silently mourning the fallen master. They knew that Tai-Yang was in good hands with Tigress and Po. But they knew that if he hadn't already, Shā-Wēi was on his way to the little house. Intent on brutally ending Tai-Yang's life. The five, Ox, and Croc couldn't help but think of what he would do to Tai-Yang's body if he truly was dead by the time Shā-Wēi should up. And what of their friends? Po and Tigress had assured their fellow Masters they would catch up with them if they could. But what if they couldn't?

"_Hey!"  
"Over here!"_

The masters stopped dead in their tracks. Those voices… Was it...

"In the river!"  
"Help us!"

It is!

The masters turned to see Po and Tigress swimming toward the bank of the river as fast as they could, but with the fact that there were ice chunks and the fact that they were, obviously, partially frozen themselves.

"Hang on!" Croc shouted to them.

"We're coming!" Viper shouted as she, Croc, and the other Masters rushed toward them. Once there, Ox extended a hand to the Masters. Po, grabbing Tigress's hand with one of his own, lunged forward and toward the river's shore, one arm outstretched.

Ox, thankfully, seized it quickly and began to pull. While the others masters helped pull as well, Tigress and Po did what they could do not to get sucked into the current. Finally, after much struggling on all of the masters parts, Po and Tigress were finally pulled onto the shore.

"T-T-Thank Y-Y-Y-You." Po stammered as he and Tigress began to shiver.

"What happened to you guys?" Viper asked.

"And why were you two in the river?" Shifu asked.

"S-Sh- Shā-Wēi sh-showed u-up." Tigress stammered as Monkey and Crane went to go find some extra layers for these two to wear. "A-And w-we had-d t-t-to m-m-make a u-un-unexpected e-e-escape." Tigress glared slightly at Po.

Monkey and Crane came back with some thick and very warm looking blankets and drooped them over their friends' shoulders. "We're just glad you guys are ok." Crane said.

"More than likely frostbitten, but still alive!" Monkey said.

"And what of Tai-Yang…" Ox stated, but immediately regretted it. "Is he?"

Tigress and Po sighed sadly and nodded. "A f–f-few m-minutes b-b-b-before Sh-Sh-Shā-Wēi showed up."

Then Tigress glanced up. "H-He kn-knows ab-bout T-Tigria…"

A thick, heavy silence fell upon the group as the rolled this new information inside their head. Tai-Yang was dead, Shā-Wēi had won, and he would more than likely go after Tigria. Why? Well, that part was still a little bit in the dark.

Finally, Shifu broke the silence. "Let us set up camp. We all need to rest." He glanced at Tigress and Po. "And reheat."

Po and Tigress smiled lightly at their master, grateful.

-About an Hour later-

An awkward silence had settled upon the group. No one knew what to say, but Po and Tigress were the only ones who didn't seem to mind. For they were busy trying to return their body temperatures to normal. But, all silences have to come to an end at some point, so it was Monkey who broke the silence.

"It's hard to believe isn't it?"

"Pardon?" Shifu raised a brow to his student.

"I'm just saying, last time we were all here- minus Po of course- Bùxiǔ de Xīwàng City was a happy place." Monkey explained.

"Then this _darkness_ settled upon the city." Ox muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"_I sense a great danger in the city. One that is far away from being a threat and yet more deadly than any poison. One that we cannot stop or control."_

Those words made their way into Tigress and Mantis's heads. True, Oogway had said those words no more than four years ago, but Tigress and Mantis had never understood them. That is, until now.

Mantis and Tigress exchanged glances; they knew that this had to be said. "Oogway knew that this was going to happen."

"What?" The other masters asked in unison.

"He told us about a threat in the city four years ago, when we were last in the city, and how it was deadly yet out of our own control." Tigress said.

"We didn't know what he meant back then, but we do now." Mantis said.

"Then why didn't you tell us this sooner?!" Croc asked.

"It wasn't hard to forget what he said after Tigria let loose an energetic bomb of blue light!" Mantis pointed out.

"Wait, Tigria did what now?" Po asked, utterly confused.

"Did Oogway say anything else?" Shifu asked.

Tigress and Mantis had to think about this for a moment. But finally Tigress looked up to her master and said "Yes. He mentioned he also saw a light of purity and goodness. He said it was one that we could help grow and learn."

"And that was right before Tigria released her Bomb of Blue Light!" Mantis said.

"Seriously guys, what are you talking about?!" Po asked.

Shifu mulled this over in this mind as he remembered the day he last visited Bùxiǔ de Xīwàng City. He remembered all too well sitting at the table with his students and fellow masters when they saw bright blue light coming from the Nursery. "Tigria is the light Oogway was talking about all those years ago." His fellow masters looked at him in curiosity. "And it is our job to find her before Shā-Wēi does."

This sent a sense of extreme purpose through the Masters and caused confident smirks to make their way onto the Masters faces.

-Twenty-Four Hours later. In a very, VERY run-down Inn-

A four-year-old Indochinese tigress stood in the lobby of the inn, sweeping the floor. This young tigress was wearing an extremely ill-fitting, dark brown dress with navy-blue rags poorly sewn onto the shoulders of the dress, no doubt a poor attempt at making sleeves. This dress also had a moss green rags scattered throughout the dress as an attempt to cover up some of the holes. This dress was very thin, no more than rags, and didn't appear to be very warm. This tigress also wore no shoes.

Another interesting thing about this tigress was that she had snow white fur with stripes as dark as ebony. Her eyes were big and round and the exact color of sapphires. But one could barely tell these things. Her body was covered in bruise varying in colors of black, blue, and light yellow, there are many scars covering her body, and this tigress looked as though it has been months since she has been properly bathed and fed for her bones were sticking out in every which-way possible. Her eyes, which normally looked sullen and one of them was still recovering from a black eye that the child received the previous week when she forgot to polish Mr. Hú-láng's shoes and he delivered several punches to the tigress's persons.

She would have been quite an adorable child if she did not have the Hú-láng's as her foster family.

She heard laughter outside and glanced out a nearby window. Children of all ages and their families were running around celebrating that Winter Feast was finally upon them. Everyone was happy, all except the tiny little tiger child who no one in this town ever noticed. This tigress glanced out the window again into a little toy-shop across the street. In the very front display window was a beautiful little doll.

The doll was a porcelain bunny with fur the color of chocolate and black glass eyes. She was wearing a light pink dress with white lace trimming and little silver beads sewn into the skirt and top. Her shoes were light pink flats and had silver beads sewn into the top of them. The bunny was wearing white lace gloves and a light pink bow on one ear. This tigress wanted that doll more than anything in life, except maybe the father she barely remembers to come back and get her.

_There is a castle on a cloud  
I like to go there in my sleep  
Aren't any floors for me to sweep_

_Not in my Castle on a Cloud._

Tigria set the broom down by the window and picked up her hand-made doll she made by herself. True it was nothing more than a poorly sewn bunch of rags that looked like they would fall apart at any second with a poorly drawn face on it, but it was all that the child owned. So this is why she cradled it like she had often seen her foster sister do with her own doll.

_There is a man all in white  
Holds me and sings a lullaby  
He's nice to see  
And he's soft to touch  
He says: Tigria, I love you very much._

Tigria brought the child closed to her head and kissed it lightly. And then began to cradle it and rock it back in forth in time to her own little song.

_I know a place where no one's lost  
I know a place where no one cries  
Crying at all is not allowed  
Not in my Castle on a Cloud._

CREAK!

Tigria gasped and put her doll back in its hiding place before hurriedly continuing to sweep the floor.

A tall, and extremely "Well-Fed" female jackal with creamy golden fur and a thick stripe of brown-black fur on her back and light brown eyes wearing a grey-white skirt, a dark green over-skirt, a maroon, long-sleeved shirt with brown lace trim, a gold colored sash, and black flats. This was Mrs. Hú-láng

"Now look who's here, the little Princess herself. Pretending once again she's been so awfully good." Mrs. Hú-láng said to Tigria. The female jackal walked over to the child and smirked lightly as the child flinched and avoided eye contact. "Better not let me catch you slacking! You better not catch my eye!" She walked past Tigria and over to a wooden bucket by the door and chucked at Tigria. It landed on her head with a loud thud. "Now take that pail my little princess and go fetch me some water from the well in the woods!"

Tigria nodded sadly and made her way toward the door but stopped and ducked behind a table when she heard snoring. She saw Mrs. Hú-láng rolled her eyes and growled while she made her way over to a nearby desk. Tigria allowed a ghost of a smile to appear on her face. "Wake up you bastard!" Mrs. Hú-láng shouted as she kicked something-or someone.

A stout, scrawny male jackal stood up quicker than Tigria had ever seen him do before. He had tawny yellow gold color fur and brownish-grey eyes. He was wearing a long sleeved, grey shirt with a muddy-yellow vest with silver buttons, maroon-brown pants, and brown boots with black laces. He also wore a gaudy blue-black hat with a blood red feather in it. This was Mr. Hú-láng.

"What is it, darling?" Mr. Hú-láng asked his wife.

"Look at what that good-for-nothing Tai-Yang sent us to take care of that little whore." Mrs. Hú-láng said throwing some money onto the desk.

"Ten Yuan?! What could that possibly by us?!" Mr. Hú-láng shouted, causing Tigria to cringe.

She heard someone skipping into the room. A four-year-old jackal with beautiful golden fur and chocolate brown eyes skipped into the room. She was wearing a pure white, long-sleeved dress with light blue ribbons for trim, white boots with black laces, a dark blue shawl with white lace trimming, and a blue hat. This child was carrying a porcelain bunny doll with blonde fur and blue glass eyes. This doll was wearing a lilac colored dress with gold beads and white lace trim, lilac colored flats with a white rose on top the shoes. The bunny wore a lilac colored bonnet with a white rose on one side and gold bead and white lace trimmings.

"Mother? Father?" The little girl called sweetly to her parents.

"Taia, my darling! Come here my sweet little, Taia!" Mrs. Hú-láng cooed loving as she and her husband made their over to their beloved daughter. Tigria let a few tears flow down her cheeks. She had often wished for someone to talk to her like that. **(A/N: Pronounce Taia like this: Tie-uh)**

"My little angel, you look very beautiful in that new little blue hat!" Mr. Hú-láng cooed as he smoothed out his daughters dress along with his wife.

"There are some little girls who know how to behave and to dress and I'm saying thank the gods for that!" Mrs. Hú-láng said.

Taia gasped as she spotted Tigria huddled behind a chair. Then she smirked wickedly and pointed directly at her.

"Still there, Tigria?" Mrs. Hú-láng growled as she turned around. Tigria had now started to cry tears of fear. "Your tears will do you no good! I thought I told you to go fetch some water from the well in the woods!"

"Please do not send me out alone, not in the darkness on my own-"Tigria begged.

"NOW SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU LITTLE SLUT!" Mr. and Mrs. Hú-láng shouted as Mr. Hú-láng slapped Tigria right across the face for back-talking his wife.

"Or we might forget to be nice. You heard me ask for something, you know I _never ask twice_!" Mrs. Hú-láng growled at Tigria, who whimpered in fear. Mr. and Mrs. Hú-láng stomped off to rob- or as they called it, treat- a new customer, Taia walked up to Tigria and grabbed her by the collar.

"Have fun out in the woods, you little lark!" Taia laughed cruelly as she shoved Tigria out the back door.

-With Po, Shifu, Ox and Croc, and the Furious Five-

"We had to come the back way, didn't we?" Mantis complained.

"Hey, we didn't know that!" Ox stated simply.

"Ssshhh!" Tigress hissed, stopping suddenly. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Viper asked.

"Ssshhh! Just listen!" Tigress commanded. And so, out of curiosity, everyone did.

_La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La_

_La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La_

_La, La, La, La, La, La, La, La, _

Singing. And it sounded close by! But who would be out in the woods at this hour when it was snowing outside?

The masters exchanged glances and nodded and slowly proceeded forward. The only sounds that could be heard was the rushing river behind them, the soft singing, and the light crunching of snow under their feet.

SNAP!

The masters froze and turned to Monkey, who wasn't looking where he was going and stepped on a twig, accusingly.

Monkey smiled weakly and chuckled sheepishly. "Um… Oops…"

They heard someone cry out in fear; they were assuming it was because of what just happen, and then they heard quick, rapid crunching of snow that suggest someone was running away from them.

"Monkey!" Everyone hissed at him.

"Sorry..."

While everyone was quietly chastising him for such a "Rookie" mistake, Po spotted something. Footprints. Tiny, tiny little footprints that seemed to be heading toward a nearby well, Po also spotted a full bucket of water that was carefully set down next to the well. Then they seemed to Double back for a few feet, then he saw that they headed right for a big tree.

Po slipped away unnoticed from the group as he walked closer and closer to the tree. As he neared it, he saw a small child huddled behind the tree, shivering and whimpering in fear. "Hush now," Po said soothingly, getting both the group of masters and the child's attention. "Do not be afraid of me."

Po saw the child shift slightly so it could face him. Slowly, he walked closer to the tree, and child. The masters exchanged glances and followed him carefully.

When Po was finally close enough, he saw the child was a four-year-old Indochinese tigress with snow white fur with ebony stripes and big, round, sapphire colored eyes. This young tigress was wearing an extremely ill-fitting, dark brown dress with navy-blue rags poorly sewn onto the shoulders of the dress, no doubt a poor attempt at making sleeves. This dress also had a moss green rags scattered throughout the dress as an attempt to cover up some of the holes. This dress was very thin, no more than rags, and didn't appear to be very warm. This tigress also wore no shoes. This sickened the panda beyond belief.

He also noticed that her body was covered in bruise varying in colors of black, blue, and light yellow, there are many scars covering her body, and this tigress looked as though it has been months since she has been properly bathed and fed for her bones were sticking out in every which-way possible. Po also noticed how she was still recovering from one black eye. This also sickened the panda beyond belief.

"You don't have to hide from me." He sent the young tigress a soft, kind smile. "Tell me my child, what is your name?"

It was the first time that Po had seen this little girl smiled. "I am called Tigria."

Tigria. Her name was Tigria. The masters, minus Po, couldn't believe what they saw. The last time they saw Tigria, she was a happy and healthy looking baby girl and was wearing the finest of clothes. But now… there was only one thought that went through the masters' minds. _"Who the hell did this to Tigria and how quickly can I make this person bleed?"_

Po on the other hand was having a different reaction. True, he was horrified at this child's condition, he knew he had to play it cool so she wouldn't be scared off.

So, Po smiled brightly at her and knelt down to her level. "Tigria, my name is Po. I'm a friend of your daddy."

This aroused Tigria's interest. "You know my daddy?"

"Yes," He turned and gestured toward his fellow masters. "We all do." Po took a deep breath. Now comes the bad news. "And… we've got good news and bad news."

"What's the bad news?" Tigria asked.

"Your daddy… Your daddy has… Has passed on." Po said. Tigria's eyes widened as she looked to the ground. "Do you know what that means?"

Tigria nodded and Po could see a tear run down her cheek. "Hey, hey don't be sad." Po said as he wiped away her tears and tilted her head back up. "You know why?"

Tigria shook her head. "No. Why?"

"Because the good news is that we're-" Po once again gestured to his friends and master. "Here to take you away from here."

Tigria's eyes widened once again. Only this time, in surprise. She looked up at Po hopefully. "W-What?" It was almost as if Tigria didn't know what Po just said.

Tigress walked over to the two of them and knelt down beside Po. "Tigria, we promised your father we would take care of you now. We're going to take you away from here so-"

Tigress never got to finish her sentenced, because before she could, Tigria smiled brightly at the two of them and then wrapped her skinny arms around them. "Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!" Tigria said happily. She was crying tears of joy this time.

Po and Tigress exchanged glances. They were surprised by Tigria's outburst of sudden joy to say the least. And Tigress still wasn't used to people hugging her, so she felt beyond uncomfortable.

"Ahem!" Ox cleared his throat, making his and the other masters' presence known. Tigria turned to the other masters and slowly let go of Po and Tigress. Po and Tigress also noticed that Monkey, Mantis, and Croc were trying to hold back their laughter.

"Miss Tigria, would you like me to carry your bucket?" Ox asked pointing to the bucket. Tigria responded with a happy smile and a quick nod.

-About ten minutes later, on the way back to the Inn-

Tigress could tell that Tigria was enjoying all the attention the masters were giving her. Monkey and Mantis making her laugh, Ox carrying her bucket of water, Crane and Croc allowing her to try and pull them down, Viper cooing at how adorable she is, and even Shifu having pleasant conversations with her. But Tigress could easily tell that she enjoyed Po and her company most of all. Po swinging her around like she often see Fathers do to their own children in the Valley and how Tigria just simply walked closely to Tigress and smile up at her.

Yes, Tigria was enjoying all this attention immensely.

But it was when Po had lifted Tigria up into the air for the last time did Tigress see something truly interesting. They had walked by a stop with a porcelain bunny doll with fur the color of chocolate and black glass eyes. She was wearing a light pink dress with white lace trimming and little silver beads sewn into the skirt and top. Her shoes were light pink flats and had silver beads sewn into the top of them. The bunny was wearing white lace gloves and a light pink bow on one ear. Tigress noticed a look of longing pass into Tigria's eyes.

Without thinking, Tigress's hands immediately went to her money pouch. She had exactly One-hundred Yuan in it. The cost of that doll was Ninety-Five Yuan.

Then she heard it, Tigria gasped in fear as Po set her down. Tigria froze. They were standing in front of the Hú-láng's Inn. And there, standing at the front entrance was Mr. and Mrs. Hú-láng and Taia. While Mr. and Mrs. Hú-láng were starring at the masters with what looked like a cross between a scowl and a raised brow, Taia merely looked between them and Tigria with pure confusion.

Tigria then quickly ran and hid behind Tigress. Tigress turned to Tigria. She saw pure fear in her eyes now. "Tigria, is this where you live?" Viper asked sweetly.

"Uh-Huh." Was all Tigria said.

Shifu smiled reassuringly at the child before proceeding toward the family of Jackals, followed closely by his students and Tigria-who was still hiding behind Tigress but peeked out occasionally. "My name is Shifu. And who might you all be?"

"We're the Hú-láng's and this is our daughter Taia." Mr. Hú-láng said crossly.

"And what are you doing with _our_ little Tigria?" Mrs. Hú-láng asked, no, accused the masters.

Shifu turned and gestured to Tigria, who had peeked out from behind Tigress. "We found her wandering in the woods. This little child, who could not possibly defend herself if something happened, we found her scared out of her wits and hiding behind a tree." Shifu took note of how pleased the Hú-láng family seemed by this. "And we're here to help Tigria. We will take it upon ourselves to settle any debts that Tai-Yang fell behind on while Tigria was in your care."

This caught Mr. and Mrs. Hú-láng's attention. "We will pay we you think we must pay, to take Tigria away."

Mr. Hú-láng got down on one knee and opened his arms and mouthed 'I love you!' toward Tigria, in hopes of getting a hug from her. Said little girl just frowned and shook her head. But that didn't stop him, he even resorted to practically telling Tigria, through hand-motions and mouthing words, to come here and give him a hug. Leaving the masters, and even his own daughter, to wonder if this man knew they were watching him.

"And why would _you_ want to take Tigria away?" Mrs. Hú-láng questioned.

"This is something we must do, for we are not the ones to break. For now…" Shifu took a steadying breath. "Tigria's father has passed on. Leaving Tigria with no one but us to care for her."

Taia gasped in utter shock and concern. As did Mrs. Hú-láng. But the masters could tell just by looking at the two of them, that only Taia truly meant it.

"Tai-Yang's suffering is over and we speak here in his voice and we stand here in his place, and we promised him-" Shifu said as he and everyone else moved to inside the Inn to discuss this matter.

"Let me take your coat, sir." Mrs. Hú-láng told Tigress as she reached for her cloak, but Tigress also saw her reaching for her money pouch. So she quickly blocked her path and glared at her. "That's ma'am to you."

"Tigria shall live in our protection." Shifu told them.

"You all are very welcome here!" Mr. Hú-láng said as Mrs. Hú-láng "accidently" dropped a napkin in hopes that one of them would bend over so she could get closer to their money pouches. Thankfully, it didn't work.

"We will not forsake our vow!" Po told the Jackals, hoping to make them understand.

"Take a glass!" Mr. Hú-láng said offering them glasses of wine.  
"Take a chair!" Mrs. Hú-láng said offering them all chairs.

"Tigria _will_ have a family from now on." Shifu told them, fed up with their pathetic attempts at robbing them. He made a mental note to notify the authorities of these two later.

Mr. Hú-láng was also fed up that none of these people would fall for his "Ingenious" traps, decided he might as well get as much money out of Tigria as he thought possible.

So, acting quickly, he reached out and grabbed Tigria roughly by the arm and yanked her out from behind Tigress, and before anyone could protest, started cradling and hugging her like he might actually somewhat care for her.

"What to do? What to say? Shall you carry our treasure away?" Mr. Hú-láng said as he hugged Tigria and attempted to stroke her head, but she shoved his hand away every time. "What a gem! What a pearl! Beyond diamonds is our little girl! How could we talk of debt? Let us not haggle for darling Ligria."

While Shifu merely frowned and raised his eyebrow at the man, the masters exchanged glances that said 'How dumb does this guy think we are?' and his own daughter face-palmed while his wife seemed to be trying to resist the urge to slap him across the face.

His wife, still smiling sweetly, leaned over to her husband and said "Tigria…"

"Tigria!" Mr. Hú-láng corrected. "Dear Tai-Yang, gone to rest. Have we done for his child what is best? I think so!"

"_I don't!" _Everyone but Mr. and Mrs. Hú-láng thought.

"Shared our bread, shared each bowl! We've treated her like she's one of our own, my good men and women." Mr. Hú-láng said.

Taia, once again, face-palmed. For even _she_ knew the stupidity in that statement. Her she was dressed in the finest clothes her parents could by while Tigria wasn't even wearing shoes.

"I can understand how you can credit yourself, Mr. Hú-láng. But let us not talk of bargains and bowls and greed." Shifu opened his money pouch, which held Ten-Hundred Yuan in it and threw it on the table. "Now… Are we agreed?"

While Mr. Hú-láng looked ready to accept, Mrs. Hú-láng butted in and yanked Tigria over to her. "That would quite fit the bill, _if_ she hadn't so often been ill. Little dear," After being motioned to do so, Taia ran up to behind her parents and started coughing, in attempts to make it look like Tigria was coughing. Oh sure, she knew it was pointless, but she always listened to her parents. "Cost us dear. Medicines are very expensive, good-sir. But it's not that we begrudged a coin. It's no more than what we good and honest people must do!"

Then Mr. Hú-láng yanked Tigria back and petted her head. "Just one more thing, a simply small doubt. There are many dangerous people about. We mean no offence, but please reflect… Your intentions might not be correct!"

Po, without being noticed, took Two-Hundred Yuan out of his pouch and then stepped forward and narrowed his eyes and the two Jackals. "No more words. Here's your price, Fifteen-Hundred Yuan for you… _Sacrifice_."

Mr. and Mrs. Hú-láng looked between the money pouch Po held up and each other. Finally, the two looked up at the panda and smirked greedily/happily. "Deal."

Mr. Hú-láng shoved Tigria away from him and grabbed Po's money pouch. "Come on Tigria, say good-bye." Viper told her. Tigria turned to the Jackals and simply waved good-bye before she ran toward the window to grab her "Doll".

Noticing that Tigria was going to leave, and after all the trouble they went through, Mr. and Mrs. Hú-láng went over and hugged and kissed her until she couldn't breathe, and even Taia managed to hug Tigria good-bye, all though, it was a rather awkward hug.

"Thank You both for Tigria." Po said once more as said tigress grabbed his hand. "It won't take you to long to forget."

On their way out of the Inn, the masters heard Mr. Hú-láng call out "Farewell, Ting-Ting!" and his wife say to him in the most obvious tone "It's Tigria!"

-A few minutes later. In the town's square-

Tigress kept catching Tigria's eyes wander off to that doll in the window. She had enough money, and Tigress couldn't help but scowl at what Tigria called her very own doll at the moment. But before she could react upon this, she saw Po walking toward that same store.

"Po? What're you doing?" Tigress asked as she caught up to Po.

"Well… I was thinking… Everyone deserves a nice Winter Festival gift… And Tigria's "Doll" isn't exactly the best… So…" Po trailed off.

Tigress smiled. "Darn, you beat me to it panda. But if you're going to get Tigria a doll, make sure it's the one she wants."

This is where Tigress knows she has Po beat. Po looked at the store nervously. "And which one would that be? But preferably, do you know which one that is?"

"You want me to come with you, Po?" Tigress asked.  
"Yes, please!" Po pleaded.

After agreeing to come into the store with Po, the two walked calmly inside the store.

-Meanwhile, with the other Masters and Tigria-

"So, what you do is you scoop up some snow in your hand," Monkey instructed Tigria as he bent down and scooped up some snow in his hands. While waiting for a cart to come pick them up so they could head back to the Valley, Tigria saw some of the local children throwing snow-balls, Tigria wanted to learn how to make them, and Monkey was more than happy to teach her. "Then you pack it all together in a ball; make sure it's nice and tight. And then you throw it at somebody." Monkey smiled at her and handed her the snow ball. "Now throw it at somebody!"

In response, Tigria threw it as hard as she could right at Monkey, causing him to fall flat on his back into the snow. Then he shouted up "I didn't mean me!"

But Tigria, along with everyone else, was already laughing. Then, something truly surprising happened. Between laughs Tigria shouted "Uncle Monkey, funny!"

The other master went slack-jawed while Monkey's eyes widened as he sat up. "Uncle Monkey?"

"Yeah! Uncle Monkey!" Tigria smiled.

Luckily, another not-so-awkward was avoided as Tigress and Po walked back. Everyone could tell Po was holding something behind his back. Tigress was the first to notice the traces of snow on Monkey's face.

"What happened?" Tigress asked.

"Tigria hit me with a snow ball!" Monkey shouted angrily, even though he was smiling.

"You did?" Po asked curiously. Tigria nodded her head and frowned slightly. Po held out one hand for her. "Nice job, kiddo! High-five!"

Tigria happily obliged while Monkey shouted angrily at Po "Hey!"

Po ignored him and knelt down to Tigria's level. "Tigria, I want you to know something. No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you."

Tigria stood up on her tiptoes and "whispered" in Po's ear "Will you be like a Bàba to me?"

This shocked everyone. Not only did Tigria think of Monkey as her Uncle, but now she's asking Po if he will be her new father!

But, instead of saying something completely stupid, which they all expected Po to do, Po handed Tigria a beautiful new doll and smiled at her. "Yes, Tigria, this is true. I'll be just like a father to you."

Tigria's eyes lit up happily as she hugged her new father, who hugged her back. Then, after a couple seconds, the cart showed up, and everyone piled into it.

-An hour later, with Mr. and Mrs. Hú-láng back at the Inn-

After putting Taia in bed for the night, Mr. and Mrs. Hú-láng sat in the entry way of their inn. Mr. Hú-láng was admiring the money they had acquired for Tigria. He smirked at it. "I believe we did very well, my dear!"

But, Mrs. Hú-láng spotted someone in a cart rushing toward the inn. A panther who was about forty-one-years-old with fur as black as night, cold, unforgiving silver eyes, and a cruel sneer plastered onto his face. He was wearing silver pants, knee-length, black boots, and grey-blue jacket with gold buttons and ambulates on his shoulders and a black hat with a silver-and-red colored feather sticking out of one side was riding the cart.

"Not well enough!"Mrs. Hú-láng shouted angrily at her husband. "There's a copper at our door! What the hell have you done you bastard?!" Mrs. Hú-láng shouted as the two of them made it to the front entry way of the Inn.

The panther jumped down from his cart and walked over to the couple. "Where's the child Tigria?" The panther said in his most intimidating voice.

Mr. and Mrs. Hú-láng exchanged nervous glances before Mrs. Hú-láng turned back to the panther. "She is gone with some gents and their girls. They didn't tell us where they went. Didn't leave their home address."

The panther narrowed his eyes at the two Jackals. "Did you notice anything… unusual about these people?"

"Yes, sir! We did!" Mr. Hú-láng said. "One of them was a panda and another one was a Tiger!"

In response all the panther did was growl and hop back on his cart as it sped away. Mrs. Hú-láng angrily grabbed her husband by the ear. "Look at what we got! You still think it's enough!"

"I promise, honey, next time… I'll do better!" Mr. Hú-láng said as he tried to kiss his wife, but she shoved him away.

-Two hours later, with the Masters and Tigria-

Tigria had long since fallen into a peaceful sleep on Po's lap and was now snoring softly. Ox, Croc, Monkey, and Viper had dozed off about fifteen minutes ago. Everyone else was trying their best to stay awake.

Tigress, who was sitting next to Po, glanced down at Tigria. She was hugging her new doll, whom Tigria named Li Mei, close to her body as she slept. Tigress couldn't help but think about how two days ago, she thought Tigria was safe in the Marble Palace when she was the very opposite in fact, and now Po is her adoptive father. True, there are still some laws to cover but they can worry about that when they get back to the Valley.

How so suddenly the world seems so different, full of grace and light. Full of responsibility that Tigress felt she was ready for. How were they to know that so much hope was held inside them for this one little child? That her past is now finally gone as they all journey on through the night.

Tigress reached out tentatively and stroked Tigria's head. To her surprise, Tigria smiled and sighed happily in her sleep. Po saw this and smiled at Tigress who returned it. She was surprised at how Tigria smiling made Tigress strangely happy. How was she to know that happiness could so fast? Tigria trusted them the way she had never done with anyone else, and this made Tigress nervous. She, along with the other masters, were afraid of failing this child as parental figures. And then there was still Shā-Wēi to worry about, Tigria was only four. She was too young to know of the deadly shadows that would no doubt follow her for the rest of Tigria's life.

But that didn't matter. Tigria was here now. And she was safe. She would never be alone again. For Tigria had won all of their hearts so quickly. And brought the gift of light and purity and love that Oogway had predicted. And Tigress, along with the other Masters accepted the gift without hesitation. Tigress sighed happily as she leaned back into her seat, ready to except the new role that life has given her.

She was just about sleep when the driver pulled the cart to a stop. "Passenger-Check up ahead. We'll be moving shortly!" The driver called to them from outside.

"Thank You for letting us know." Mantis told him. The masters that were once asleep awoke, they were wondering why Tigria had not woken at this news. _"Wait… Passenger-Check? Who would do something like that and wh- Oh no…"_ Tigress thought fearfully. She glanced out the window; the other masters must have picked up on her sudden alertness for they followed her lead (Po being careful not to disturb Tigria) and glanced out the window. Their hearts nearly stopped.

About four carts down, was Shā-Wēi. Leading his men in the Passenger-Check. The masters flattened their bodies against their seats as much as they could. They exchanged nervous/scared glances. They knew that if they stayed any longer, Tigria would be caught.

"Tigria! Tigria! Wake Up!" Po whispered to the child as he shook her awake. Not being able to mask the urgency in his voice. Tigria blinked her eyes open and looked up at the Panda tiredly. "Shush! Stay very quiet!" Po told her.

Tigria, picking up on her adoptive father's urgent tone of voice, nodded worriedly. "What's going on?"

"We have to leave, child. Now!" Shifu told her in a reassuring-yet urgent- voice.

"Here give me the doll!" Po said taking the doll from Tigria's hands and placing it in his backpack. And he took out the Two-Hundred Yuan he didn't spend on Tigria and placed it on the floor for the Cart-Driver to find later.

Then, as quietly as possible, Ox and Croc stepped out of the cart and helped everyone else out of the cart next. Once everyone was out, Tigress grabbed hold of Tigria's hand. And then all the masters run-or in Mantis, Viper, and Crane's case jumped, slithered, and flew- as fast as they could. Tigria trying her best to keep up with the masters on her short little legs. But, unfortunately, this action did not go unnoticed by a certain panther.

"Tigria Long!" Shā-Wēi shouted once he and his men reached their old cart. Tigria was shocked. How did that strange man know her name? Before she knew what was happening, Tigress scooped Tigria up in her arms.

"Tigria, hang on to me!" Tigress told the child, who nodded. The masters heard footsteps rapidly approaching them. It sounded to be at least ten or fifteen men approaching them. One of them was no doubt Shā-Wēi.

"This way, c'mon!" Po shouted as he led the masters down multiple lanes with many curves and. True, no one knew where they were going, what mattered was shaking Shā-Wēi and his band of thieves off their respected tails. But, unfortunately, all plans do not turn out the way they're supposed to. The group had put a great amount of distance between them and Shā-Wēi, but they had now reached a dead end.

"Now what?" Monkey asked. Po glanced around. He could smell something that reminded him of when he used to play by the river as a kid. He assumed it was on the other side of these walls. Now all they had to do was get over the water. Quickly.

"Crane, Get Viper and Tigria up on top of the walls. Then Viper you pull us up!" Po said.

"That's crazy enough to work!" Mantis said as Tigress carefully place Tigria on Crane's back and Viper slithered onto said child's shoulders. Crane easily flew up to the roof and soon enough Viper had coiled around something and shot the other end of her tail down the side of the building.

"Tigria Long!" They heard Shā-Wēi shout. He was getting closer. Monkey, with Mantis riding on his shoulder, was easily able to climb up the wall, saving Viper some struggle. So, Shifu grabbed onto Vipers tail as she pulled him up. Tigress repeated this action. Now came the hard parts, Ox and Croc and Po. "Tigria Long!" Shā-Wēi shouted. He sounded close.

"You two go first!" Po said. Before they could protest, Viper wrapped her tail around Croc's wrist and pulled him up with all her strength. Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Crane, and Shifu helped her pull while Ox and Po shoved him up. They repeated the same process with Ox and it took everyone, minus Tigria, to pull Po up. But when they finally did, it was too late, Shā-Wēi was close now and they needed a little more time to hop down to the other side.

"Lay flat, everyone!" Shifu commanded as they heard footsteps rapidly approaching. Tigria started to whimper in fear once everyone lay flat, but Croc had put a hand over her mouth.

"Tigria Long! Tigria Long! You can't hide from me, child!" They heard Shā-Wēi shout. Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned to hours. The masters and Tigria lived a year in a minute. And then finally, they heard Shā-Wēi cry out in frustration and anger as he stomped off.

It was as if a huge wait had been lifted off the masters' shoulders. They smiled at each other, utterly relieved. Po then pulled the still whimpering Tigria over to him and attempted to calm her down.

After that had been down, they hopped down from the top of the roof to come to the realization that they had jumped down and were on a boat. "Bàba, what's that symbol on the roof of the boat?"

The masters narrowed their eyes to try to make out the symbol on the boat that Tigria had pointed out. "Is that the-"Crane started to ask.

"Po?" two voices asked in unison. The masters turned to see Prince Xi'an Po and Princess Mei Li standing behind guards, looking at them with utter surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Xi'an Po? Mei Li? Oh, I've never been happier to see you two in my entire life!" Po said happily.

"What are you doing here, outside Bùxiǔ de Xīwàng City?" Mei Li asked.

"Ironically we were just on our way to see you!" Xi'an Po told them.

"We'll explain later, but right now we need to get her-"Po gestured to Tigria who waved shyly at the two royals. "To the Valley of Peace as fast as we can."

"Is… Is that Grandmaster Tai-Yang's daughter?" Xi'an Po asked.

"Yes. Yes it is. Why do you ask?" Tigress said. Mei Li and Xi'an Po exchanged glances before Xi'an Po walked up to the Masters and covered Tigria's ears.

"We stopped in the city to pick up supplies today and we saw this panther do the most horrific thing to Tai-Yang's corpse!" Xi'an Po explained in a hushed voice. Once he was finished he let go of Tigria's ears and backed up.

"But we can tell you this on the boat ride to the Valley. We need to get Tigria as far away as possible, as quickly as possible!" Mei Li told them.

The masters smiled at the two royals. "Thank you, both of you! For doing this!" Po said.

"It is no problem Po." Xi'an Po smiled.

Mei Li turned to face one of the guards. "Go find my hand-maid, and tell her that once she has drawn a nice warm bath for Little Tigria here, that she must lay out one of my finest dresses for her to wear back to the Valley!" Mei Li walked over to Tigria and smiled. "No friend of Po's will go back to the Valley in this horrid pile of rags under my watch!"

Tigria and Mei Li both laughed as Mei Li pulled her away. But not before Po gave her back Li Mei. Once they were ahead of them, Xi'an Po led the group toward the main deck. "So, how did all of you come across Tigria?" The prince asked.

"She's Po's daughter and Monkey's her uncle, apparently." Mantis smiled. Xi'an Po gave the Masters a surprised/curious look.

"We'll explain on the way." The masters said in unison.

-With Shā-Wēi, on the roof of the Marble Palace-

Shā-Wēi stood atop the Marble Palace. Watching the, no, _his_ city at night. He was happy that he finally had the power he deserved. He was happy that Tai-Yang was finally dead. But he was _not_ happy that the damn panda and the damn tiger and their damn friends had gotten away. And he was furious that Tigria had escaped along with them.

Somewhere out in the darkness of the night, Tigria Long was running. She had fallen from grace and had fallen from the gods. She knows her way in the dark, but his path is the way of the gods. He knew well enough that those who follow the path of the righteous shall have their reward. And if they should fall from their grace, as Tigria had fallen, then their damnation was inevitable. He glanced up to see the multiple, multiple stars in the night sky. He had always admired and respected the stars. In their multitudes, scarce to be counted, filling the darkness with their order and light. They are the sentinels in Shā-Wēi's life. They were silent and sure, just as he was, as they kept their watch in the night.

They knew their place in the sky. They held their course and their aim. And each in their seasons returns and returns, and is always the same. But if they fell like Tigria had fallen they shall fall in flame!

Shā-Wēi knew that it must be. For so it was written, on his doorway to paradise, that those who falter and those who fall, must pay the highest price. Shā-Wēi glanced up once again to the sky, but this time in prayer.

"Dear gods let me find her. That I may see her, safe behind bars! I shall never rest, until Tigria Long is safe behind bars!" Shā-Wēi knew that he would find Tigria and condemn her for her sins that her father committed. He swore as the gods as his witnesses and the stars as his guide. "'Til then, this I swear! This I swear by the stars!"


End file.
